Aberdeen council repeals city plumber licensing, approves airport closeouts and equipment purchase

The City of Aberdeen City Council on Feb. 18 voted to repeal its local plumber-examining-board ordinance, approved multiple airport contract amendments and payments tied to Federal Aviation Administration closeouts, OK’d the purchase of a 2025 John Deere motor grader for $377,000 and cleared a set of routine licensure and appointment actions.

The votes were largely procedural and passed with roll-call approval. Councilors approved the second reading and final adoption of the ordinance repealing the city plumber-examining-board requirement after staff reported no substantive changes since first reading and no public comments were received.

Most airport items on the agenda were carried as recommended by the airport board. The council approved two separate amendment approvals and several payments to Helms and Associates related to Airport Improvement Program (AIP) projects (taxiway geometry, apron reconstruction and lighting/rehabilitation work) and authorized the city manager to sign a one-year letter of agreement with Helms for miscellaneous services (limit discussed at roughly $15,000). Staff said the larger amendment increases reflected additional construction work, rework and FAA closeout requirements; the council noted the city’s share of AIP closeouts is 5.5 percent.

The council also approved payment requests and invoices related to construction administration and electrical work for airport lighting, and accepted the financial closeout report for one of the Coronavirus response grants associated with airport work, which staff described as part of a multi-grant closeout effort.

In other business the council: • Approved a transfer of a retail liquor license from 5 Star Management to Easy Stop LLC (South Roosevelt Street). The motion passed. • Approved a new on-/off-sale malt-beverage and wine license for Moda Lane (302 S. Second St., the Finishing Touch location). Two council members announced recusals/abstentions for the pair of license votes; the motions carried. • Confirmed the appointment of Johanna Imbery to the Business Improvement District board. • Approved a request to purchase a 2025 John Deere motor grader from RDO at $377,000; staff said the purchase is within this year’s budgeted amount and includes an additional wing attachment intended to reduce passes in operations. • Adopted Resolution 25-0202R to participate in the bridge reinspection program (staff said the DOT required inspections of two bridges this year, including a post-construction inspection of the Tenth Avenue bridge replacement). • Approved routine consent items (taxi-driver license, lottery notice, notice of vacancy, finance office quarterly report) and moved to pay bills; a small number of abstentions were recorded on one payment line as noted in the roll call.

No contentious public debate accompanied the voted items; the airport closeouts drew questions about whether projects were finally complete and staff said pending FAA final review would finalize closeout status. The meeting concluded with the manager’s report and the council clearing the room for an executive session on a personnel matter.

Votes at a glance (selected formal actions recorded on Feb. 18): • Ordinance — repeal plumber-examining-board and local plumber-license requirement: second reading and final adoption — approved (roll call recorded as ayes). • Appointment — Johanna Imbery to Business Improvement District board: approved. • Liquor license transfer — 5 Star Management → Easy Stop LLC (South Roosevelt): approved. • Retail malt-beverage and wine license — Moda Lane (302 S. Second St.): approved (2 abstentions noted). • Airport — Amendment #2 and Amendment #3 to Helms professional services agreements (taxiway geometry and apron reconstruction closeouts) and related payments/invoices: approved; city share cited as 5.5% for AIP closeouts. • Airport — Payment for AIP rehabilitation and lighting improvements (Heffernsen Electric related work): approved. • Airport — Invoice #14 and other Helms invoices for apron reconstruction phase 2: approved. • Airport — 2025 letter of agreement with Helms and Associates for miscellaneous services (not-to-exceed ~$15,000): approved. • Airport — Financial closeout report for AIP CARES/Coronavirus-related grant funding: approved. • Equipment purchase — 2025 John Deere motor grader from RDO for $377,000: approved. • Resolution 25-0202R — bridge reinspection program: approved. • Motion to pay bills for Feb. 18: approved (with two abstentions recorded on at least one vendor line).

The council’s actions were procedural and mainly implemented staff recommendations or closed out multi-year capital projects tied to FAA requirements. No new ordinances or controversial policy changes were introduced beyond the repealer of the local plumbing license requirement, which staff said reflects the fact that plumbers are already licensed by the state.

The council moved to an executive session at the meeting’s close to discuss a personnel matter.